Ryanair loses appeal against order to cut Aer Lingus stake

Reuters Staff

1 Min Read

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Court of Appeal on Thursday rejected Ryanair's (RYA.I) appeal against an order to dispose of most of its 30 percent stake in Irish rival Aer Lingus AERL.I on competition grounds.

Ryanair said in response it would appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal, where it had argued that Britain's competition regulator did not have the jurisdiction to rule on two Irish airlines.

British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) (ICAG.L) is hoping to buy the stake from Ryanair as part of a 1.36 billion euro ($1.5 billion) takeover approach it has made to Aer Lingus.

That possible deal received the backing of the Aer Lingus board last month.

IAG is currently in talks with the Irish government about securing its 25 percent stake.